Nintendo Direct Feed Wrap Up

There has been no doubt in my mind that the Nintendo 3DS would succumb to the Nintendo rule. What is that rule? All consoles get a makeover in their lifespan. Well, I should say, all successful consoles. Sorry Virtual Boy.

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, delivered most of the information at 9PM this evening via the Nintendo Direct Feed. Reggie kicked off the stream by announcing the redesign to the Nintendo 3DS, which will bring the Nintendo 3DS XL this holiday season. From what we can tell, the console will be launching alongside New Super Mario Bros. 2, which releases August 19th, 2012.

Something that seemed to be a reoccurring theme was the news about downloadable content (DLC). What? Nintendo doesn’t do DLC? Along with the Coin Rush mode for The New Super Mario Bros. 2, Fire Emblem will also see added DLC. New Coin Rush levels will be added so players can top one another via StreetPass updates and continue challenging others players.

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So, what else do we have to look forward to this holiday season?

Damon Baker, Licensing Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, discussed all of the other third party titles we can look forward to.

Most of the titles we had fair warning about, such as Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream. Drop. Distance] and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate. Kingdom Hearts 3D will also see a demo dropping into the eShop today. We even knew that Adventure Time was going to be seeing the light of ‘3DS day thanks to developer WayForward. On a side note, it was great to hear that Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward was going to be heavily involved in the development.
For parents, the next announcement will be damaging to your wallets. Skylanders Giants is going to be releasing with 20 new actions figures. It is tough enough overhearing kids fighting and crying while their parents just try to find Wrecking Ball or Flameslinger. Now, the characters will have special 3D levels and other gameplay options exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version.

The Lego Lord of the Rings will also make its way into the 3D gaming plane, but as Lego’s. The game will feature the same puzzle and action lore that the series is used to, along with that witty humor we know so well. Sega will also bring Sonic All-Stars Transformed to the Nintendo handheld. Nascar driver Danica Patrick was announced as a playable character in the series. .

For those of you looking to satisfy your puzzle prowess, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is coming this November. The title will focus on younger years for the professor, shedding some light on his high school days. Nintendo will also continue to drive downloadable content by bringing one downloadable puzzle a day for a full year for nothing more than the lint in your pocket and wireless access.

After the third party wrap up, we were introduced to Nate Bildorf, the Senior Localization Manager. He dropped a bomb that we weren’t expecting. Nintendo will be working closely with Namco Bandai to bring the new Smash Bros. title to fruition.

The team will include Masahiro Sakurai still sitting as the games director, Yoshito Higuchi and Namco Bandai’s Kenya Kobayashi will also be present. It sounded like the game will be co-developed by both teams, but hopefully it doesn’t all land in Namco Bandai’s lap. Nate explained that the titled has been in development since the launch of Kid Icarus: Uprising.

One notorious character from the Smash Bros. is also celebrating a birthday this year. The lovable pink powder-puff by the name of Kirby will be celebrating his…its 20th anniversary this year. To commemorate the event, Nintendo will release the Kirby 20th Anniversary Dream Collection. The set will include six classic Kirby games, a full color book, and a virtual gallery of the titles. Challenge stages like those from Kirby’s Return to Dreamland will also be a part of the game. Similar to the Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, it will also include a music CD with songs from various Kirby titles.

It seems like packaged deals are the way to go. Even on the eShop starting June 22-24th, there will be quite a few titles to be added. Games like Super Mario Land, which originally released on Gameboy, will be available for download for US $2.99. Other titles will hit the Virtual Console. Games like Warioland: Super Mario Land 3, and Kirby’s Pinball will be a part of the promise of “two per week.”

Check out the new trainers for the upcoming sequels.

If you are a Pokémon fan, then you better put in some major leg work with that summer job if you want to grab both titles. More details about Pokémon Black and White Version 2, such as the slated Fall release time frame, and the revisit to the Unova region. The game will also be the first true sequel to a Pokémon in Nintendo history.

To aid in your Pokémon discovery, the Dream Radar and Pokédex 3D Pro will make your discovery a bit easier. The two showed off various forms of augmented reality features that can be used to discover new Pokémon that can be used in game. The Pokédex 3D pro will also follow character evolution and stats against others.
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Final Truth:

Even if the design of the Nintendo 3DS XL started out as a cruel April Fools joke, I guess we were the ones to be fooled. I did purchase my Nintendo 3DS on launch day, but a new design might be what my hands have been yearning for.

I don’t know what exactly to think of the Super Smash Bros. news. I didn’t feel content with Namco Bandai having a hand in the development, but co-development with Nintendo oversight might be what we were looking for and didn’t even know it.

Nintendo seems to be setting itself up for a mighty fine holiday. The abundance of third party, not to mention first party games, are what we’ve been asking for. The time frame also becomes constricting as wallets and spending do the same. The Nintendo Wii U is set to launch during this hectic buying time. I’m glad I was a good kid this year, cause that’s a whole lotta money to drop in one holiday for Nintendo titles.